One data point: I was the sole major in Comparative Literature at my undergrad college. At the time, the department had a requirement that you do four higher-le

One data point: I was the sole major in Comparative Literature at my undergrad college. At the time, the department had a requirement that you do four higher-level literature courses in two languages that were not English. That meant that you had to reach fluency in two (non-English) languages by the start of your third year. Nobody did it, and eventually (years after I left) the department began allowing people to get Comp Lit degrees by reading works solely in translation (something my professors found hideous). One nice thing about being the sole graduate in your subject? You win all the university and/or departmental awards in that subject by default. Looks impressive (to outsiders) but feels awkward. For what it's worth, my two languages were Ancient Greek and Latin (I went on to study Classics in graduate school), so apparently, you wrote your comment just for me.